Catalans - Introduction, Location, Language, Folklore, Religion, Major holidays, Rites of passage Catalans RELIGION: Roman Catholicism 1 • INTRODUCTION The Catalan people live in an area of northeast Spain called Catalonia. Historically, Catalonia also included Valencia, Andorra, the Balearic Islands, and the French department (or province) called Pyrenees Orientales. Speakers of the Catalan language can still be found in these areas. Following centuries of foreign rule, Catalonia became an independent political entity in AD 988 and united with the Kingdom of Aragon in 1137. Together, the two regions established an empire that eventually extended to Sardinia, Naples, Sicily, and Greece. After the marriage of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in the fifteenth century, the kingdoms of Aragon and Catalonia were united with Castile and León. After this union, the Catalans struggled for centuries to preserve their political and cultural identity. By the nineteenth century, Catalonia had become a major economic power in Spain due to trade and industrialization. It has remained one of Spain's wealthiest and most developed regions. It has attracted large numbers of immigrants from the south throughout the twentieth century.

During the years of Francisco Franco's dictatorship (1939–75), Catalan regionalism was suppressed and the local language outlawed. In 1979, Catalonia became an autonomous region with its capital at Barcelona. In 1992, it gained the international spotlight as host to the Summer Olympic Games. 2 • LOCATION Catalonia is located in Spain's northeastern corner. It is roughly the size of the state of Maryland. It is bound to the north by the Pyrenees mountains, to the east and south by the Mediterranean Sea, to the southwest by Valencia, and to the west by Aragon. The region is dominated by the Pyrenees. Catalonia is divided into four administrative provinces: Lleida, Girona, Barcelona, and Tarragona. A fifth region within Catalonia is Andorra, a small country jointly governed by France and Spain. Catalonia has a population of approximately 6 million people, roughly 15 percent of Spain's total population. Much of the region's population growth—up from barely 2 million in 1900—is due to immigration. Over 25 percent of Catalonia's inhabitants live in Barcelona. 3 • LANGUAGE Catalan is the official language of Catalonia.

It is also spoken in Valencia, Andorra, the Balearic Islands, and the French department (or province) of Pyrenees Orientales. Catalan is a Romance language like French, Italian, and Castilian Spanish. It is similar to the Provençal language spoken in the south of France. From the late 1930s to the mid-1970s, Catalan, like other regional languages in Spain, was suppressed by the Franco regime. Now the language can be heard on television and radio and is taught in the schools. Road signs in Catalonia are printed in both Catalan and the national language, Castilian. The most common Catalan names are Jordi (the equivalent of George) for men, and Montserrat and Núria for women. Catalan was the official host language for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. EXAMPLES seny 4 • FOLKLORE Catalan folklore has been strongly influenced by Roman Catholicism. Saints and visions of the Virgin Mary play a prominent role in legends, tales, and customs. 5 • RELIGION The majority of Catalans, like most other people in Spain, are Roman Catholic.

However, the role of religion has decreased in the lives of many people in the region. This is due to the industrialization and modernization of Catalonia, as well as to outside cultural influences. Most Catalans mark major events such as baptism and marriage with the appropriate religious ritual. However, many are not regular churchgoers. Religious minorities include Protestants, evangelical Christians, and Jews. 6 • MAJOR HOLIDAYS Catalans celebrate the standard holidays of the Christian calendar. Other religious dates include Epiphany (Reis) on January 6; Easter Monday, in March or April; the Feast of St. George (Sant Jordi), Catalonia's patron saint, on April 23; Pentecost (Pasqua Granada) , in May; and several summer festivals marked by fires and fireworks, including the feasts of St. Anthony on June 13 (in Balears); St. John on June 24; and Sts. Peter and Paul on June 29. The Catalan national holiday is La Diada on September 11. The Day of the Dead (Dia Dels Difunts) is celebrated on November 2. Boxing Day (December 26) is also observed.

Towns and villages celebrate their patron saints' days every year in a "main festival," or fiesta major. This climaxes in an all-night dance. All Catalan festivals are marked by the dancing of the sardana, the Catalan national dance. Another typical feature is the presence of ritual figures called giants (gegants) and bigheads (capgrosses), enormous papier-mache forms that are carriend in processions. The grotesque bigheads are objects of jokes and mockery. 7 • RITES OF PASSAGE Besides baptism, first communion, and marriage, military service can be considered a rite of passage for Catalans, as it is for most Spaniards. The first three of these events are the occasion, in most cases, for big and expensive social gatherings in which the family shows its generosity and economic status. Quintos are the young men from the same town or village going into the military in the same year. They form a closely knit group that collects money from their neighbors to organize parties and serenade girls. In the mid-1990s, the period of required military service has been greatly reduced. The government planned to replace required military service with a voluntary army.

8 • RELATIONSHIPS The Catalans generally have a reputation for being hard-working, ambitious, and conservative. In contrast to the passionate flamenco of the Andalusians, their national dance is the stately sardana . They tend to regard themselves as European rather than Spanish. They spend little time in other parts of Spain, preferring to vacation either in their own region or abroad in France, Italy, or England. 9 • LIVING CONDITIONS Homes in northern Catalonia often house an extended family above a first floor that is used as a barn and/or storage area. Traditionally, Catalan homes and workplaces were often combined into a single building. This type of arrangement has become less common with urbanization and the spread of multistory apartment buildings. 10 • FAMILY LIFE Economic interests have traditionally played an important role in rural, and even some urban, marriages. According to custom, one son inherited all the family property. This resulted in the creation of many wealthy estates but also in a high rate of emigration. In cities, the nuclear family (parents and children) make up the household. In the country, a family may include grandparents as well as aunts and uncles.

Men have a limited role in child-rearing, which is primarily the responsibility of the mother and female relatives or nannies. The last three decades have seen a weakening of family ties among many Catalans. 11 • CLOTHING Catalans wear modern Western-style clothing. Their tastes tend to be more conservative than those of their neighbors in other regions. Traditional male Catalan garb includes the distinctive barretina, a sock-shaped, red woolen hat that can be seen at festivals. It is often worn with a white shirt and black slacks and vest. Women's festive costumes include elaborate lacework in both black and white. 12 • FOOD Catalonia has a rich culinary tradition. The earliest Spanish cookbook in existence was written in the Catalan language in the fourteenth century. Typically Mediterranean flavors predominate in Catalan cuisine. These include olive oil, garlic, onions, tomatoes, nuts, and dried fruits. A favorite Catalan dish is escudella I carn d'olla, a boiled meal-in-a-pot comparable to the French potau-feu. Meats and sausages are simmered with vegetables; the broth is then served with pasta as a first course, with the rest served as the main course. Catalonians are fond of mushrooms.

About six dozen edible varieties grow in their homeland. Mushrooms often appear sautéed as an appetizer (tapas) or as an ingredient in soups, sauces, and stews. A Catalan staple, eaten as a snack or a meal accompaniment, is pa amb tomáquet, bread smeared with tomato and sprinkled with oil and salt. 13 • EDUCATION Catalan children, like other Spanish children, receive free, required schooling between the ages of six and fourteen. Many students then begin the three-year bachillerato (baccalaureate) course of study. Following this, they may opt for either one year of college preparatory study or vocational training. Schooling in Catalonia was dominated by the Catholic Church until the 1970s. An expansion of educational services followed the Franco regime. Study of the Catalan language is required in the region's schools. 14 • CULTURAL HERITAGE In art and architecture, Catalonia is especially prominent in connection with two widely separated periods: Romanesque, and modernist. The region contains some 2,000 buildings erected during the Romanesque period, which flourished from around AD 1000 to 1250.

At the turn of the twentieth century, the modernist style was championed by architects including Antoni Gaudí, Josep Puig I Cadafalch, and Lluís Domènech. Great painters include Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Salvador Dalí. Each has a museum in Barcelona devoted to his work. Well-known contemporary Catalan writers include Salvador Espriu and Llorenç. Prominent twentieth-century musicians from Catalonia include cellist Pablo Casals and opera singers Montserrat Caballé and José Carreras. 15 • EMPLOYMENT About 10 percent of Catalans in the labor force are engaged in agriculture, 45 percent in industry, and 45 percent in the service sector (jobs that serve the public directly). Catalan has a thriving tourism business. Much agricultural work is performed on small, family-owned plots. Fruits and vegetables are grown, and animals, including cattle, pigs, and sheep, are raised. Catalonia is one of the top five industrialized regions of Europe. Catalan industrialization began with textile production in the nineteenth century. Other important industries include chemicals, leather, construction materials, automobiles, and appliances.

The region also has the greatest number of small, high-tech companies in Spain. 16 • SPORTS Soccer (called fútbol ) is Catalonia's most popular participant sport. Fishing, sailing, and hiking or climbing in the Pyrenees are other favorite outdoor activities. Winter sports include Nordic and cross-country skiing, ice skating, and ice hockey. Squash, tennis, and golf are also widely played. The 1992 Summer Olympics were held in Barcelona. 17 • RECREATION Like other people in Spain, the Catalans enjoy watching television. The fine arts have played an important role in the Catalonian heritage. Catalans enjoy going to opera houses, theaters, and museums in Barcelona and other cities. Catalans generally vacation in their own region, usually going to the same place every year. They also enjoy traveling abroad to other European countries. 18 • CRAFTS AND HOBBIES The Catalan national dance is the sardana. It is performed at festivals and other special occasions throughout the country. Dancers form a circle, holding their clasped hands high in the air. Short, quiet steps alternate with longer, bouncy ones. The bands that play music for the sardana are called coblas.

They consist of the flabiol, a three-holed flute that is played with one hand while the player beats a small, elbow drum called a tabal; woodwind instruments called tenoras and tibles; the brass trompeta, fiscorn, and trombó; and the contrabaix, or double bass. A regular sardana session, or audació, consists of half a dozen dances, each lasting about ten minutes. Marathon sessions called aplecs, however, include twenty-four dances played by three or four different coblas and last all day. Group singing is very popular among Catalans, and many belong to traditional Catalan choirs. 19 • SOCIAL PROBLEMS As Spain's most prosperous region, Catalonia has been spared many social problems. Catalan efforts to maintain cultural identity and independence have remained peaceful—unlike those of the Basques. The traditional Catalan family structure has been weakened in the postwar decades. Immigration to the region has resulted in social and cultural discrimination. 20 • BIBLIOGRAPHY Lye, Keith. Passport to Spain. New York: Franklin Watts, 1994. Schubert, Adrian. The Land and People of Spain.

New York: HarperCollins, 1992. Williams, Roger. Catalonia. Insight Guides. Singapore: APA Publications, 1991. WEBSITES Catalan Language Catalan Language General Overview Area of Distribution and Number of Speakers Catalan (Català) is a Western Romance language spoken in eastern and northeastern Spain, chiefly in Catalonia , Valencia , the Balearic Isles , the eastern fringe of Aragon (La Franja) and in some municipalities of Murcia. Outside of Spain it is also spoken in the Roussillon region of France, in the northwest Sardinian city of Alghero (l'Alguer) , in the small state of Andorra and among the emigrants in the USA. Catalan covers an area of 68,000 square km with a population of 10 million.

It has 7,353,000 speakers or more in the world distributed as follows: 4,000,000 mother tongue speakers in Spain (1994 La Generalitat de Catalunya); 260,000 in France; 40,000 in USA (1961); 22,000 in Alghero. It is estimated that some other 3,000,000 people in Spain speak Catalan as their second or third language, with 2 million more understanding but not being able to speak it. The official language of the kingdom of Aragon between 1137 and 1749, Catalan is now co-official (with Spanish) in Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Isles. It is the only official language in the state of Andorra. ... Origin and History Catalan developed from the Vulgar Latin spoken in the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis. The disintegration and fall of the Roman empire brought about several successive invasions.

The Visigoths (414 AD) and the Arabs (Moors) (711-717 AD) subjugated the entire peninsula, but their languages had a little impact on Catalan. In 778 the Franks of Charlemagne conquered a narrow strip southward of the Pyrenees with Barcelona and established there the so called Marca Hispanica (Spanish mark) as a buffer state against the muslims. The local Romance idiom since then evolved in close relations with the language of Southern Gaul (see Occitan language ). In this period Provençal was considered a language of prestige and was adopted by the Catalonian troubadours also. In spite of the various influences from Gaul, Catalan, however, never assumed the two-case declension system, unique to Old French and Occitan. By the end of the 10th century Catalan was already a fully-formed language, clearly distinguishable from its Latin origins.

It appeared for the first time in written documents in the second half of the 12th century (a charter and six sermons); the Homilies of Organyà, written in the late 12th or early 13th centuries, is the first extant text written originally in Catalan. Catalan poetry flourished from the 13th century, before which time Catalan poets wrote in Provençal. The first true Catalan poet was Ramon Llull (c. 1235-1316), and the greatest Catalan poet was Ausiàs March (1397-1459), a Valencian. During the 13th and 14th centuries Catalan reached its high point of geographical expansion in the Iberian peninsula through the conquest of the kingdoms of Valencia and Murcia. The language also spread around the Mediterranean through victory over the kingdoms of Majorca, Sicily, Sardinia (even today there remains a Catalan-speaking popuation in the of Alghero), Naples, Athens and Neopatria in Peloponnese.

Catalan came to be spoken, even if not always as a first language, in five states around the Mediterranean which were governed by Catalan dynasties. Due to the Royal Chancellery, whose style was strongly influencing for all Catalan writing, the prose of the 14th and 15th centuries was marked by a high degree of uniformity. Catalan retained its vigour until the union of the Aragonese and Castilian crowns in 1474. After that, although mainly grammatical works appeared, it gradually entered a period of decline. Following the War of the Spanish Succession (1705-1715), Philip V abolished all the government institutions then existing in Catalonia and implemented Spanish laws. Catalan went through various periods of prohibition and even of repression, beginning with the Decretos de Nueva Planta (Decrees for a New Political Order) of 1716. The Catalan renaissance (Renaixença) began in the late 19th century with the economic progress of Catalonia. Catalan was reborn as the language of literary culture through the poetry contest known as Jocs Florals (Floral Games).

In 1906 the first Catalan Language Congress attracted 3,000 participants, and in 1907 the Institut d'Estudis Catalans was founded. In 1913 it published Normes ortogràfiques (Spelling Rules) and in 1917 the Diccionari ortogràfic (Spelling Dictionary). The Gramàtica catalana (Catalan Grammar) by Pompeu Fabra appeared in 1918. During the Second Republic (1931-1939), Catalan was restored to its official language status, but this promising development was checked by the Civil War and its consequences. The use of Catalan in public was forbidden and the language retreated into the home. Yet not until 1944 was there a course in Catalan philology at the University of Barcelona; a chair of Catalan language and literature was not founded there until 1961. Ever since the restoration of democratic institutions, there has been a process to re-establish the use of Catalan. ... Problems of Classification It is much disputed whether Catalan is more closely related to Gallo-Romance or to the Ibero-Romance languages.

Medieval Catalan was so close to Lemosí, the literary dialect of Occitan in southern Gaul, that it is thought by some to have been imported from beyond the Pyrenees in the resettlement of refugees from the Moors. In more modern times, Catalan has, however, grown closer to Aragonese and Castilian, so that its family-tree classification becomes less relevant. It was occasionally called Llemosí by 19th-century Catalan revivalists, however, who wished to emphasize its independence from other Iberian tongues by stressing its relation to Occitan. ... Dialects Although in the Middle Ages there is no evidence of dialectalization, perhaps because of the standardizing influence of its official use in the Kingdom of Aragon, since the 16th century the dialects of Valencia and the Balearic Isles, especially, have tended to differentiate from the Central (Barcelona) dialect. Nevertheless, some degree of uniformity is preserved in the literary language, which continued to flourish.

There are two main dialect groups in modern Catalan: Occidental, subdivided into North-West Catalan and Valencian; and Oriental, subdivided into Central dialect, Balearic, Roussillonnais and Alguerese (the dialect spoken in Alghero, Sardinia, where Catalan was introduced in the 14th century). Each of these dialects, except for Alguerese, is in turn divided into subdialects, of which up to eighteen have been identified. These various dialects differ only in minor respects (details of pronunciation, vocabulary, and verb conjugation) and are easily mutually intelligible. The dialectal differences are not usually reflected in the written language. The Institute of Catalan Studies is responsible for establishing and updating the standard language, which is based on the Barcelona dialect with some admixtures from Valencian. No one spontaneously speaks the standard, but it is used in writing and by the media. Valencians -- except for the intellectual elite -- are inclined to consider their speech a separate language. For a number of historical and other reasons, a sector of the Valencian people are deeply distrustful, if not overtly hostile, to Catalans.

The ultra-rightist party Unió Valenciana supports this sentiment, and among other things it called for linguistic secession by establishing a separate orthography. ... The Present situation of Catalan Catalan is taught as a separate subject and is used as the teaching medium at all levels of the education system in Catalonia. Children whose mother tongue is not Catalan learn the language at school in the so-called immersion programs. The Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan autonomous government) enjoys full control over the elementary schools, the secondary schools, and the nine universities in the region. The situation in Valencia and the Balearic Islands is different. Since democracy was restored in 1977, the Balearics have been ruled by pan-Spanish (i.e., non-nationalistic) parties, which, while not opposed to introducing the Catalan language at school, are not particularly eager to do so at a fast pace either. As for Valencia, the linguistic conscience there is weaker than in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. Although the Valencian government controls the education, its efforts aimed at increasing the use of Catalan at school, as well as public support for such initiatives, have both been thoroughly inadequate.

In addition to this, some Valencian groups are engaged in challenging the unity of the Catalan language, as part of an integral campaign of anti-Catalanism. TABLE: The knowledge of Catalan (1986-1991). Population over the age of two. 739,506 ... The Legal framework for the Catalan language The legal framework on language in Spain is to be found in the 1978 Constitution, mainly in article 3, and in the statutes of autonomy of Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands and Aragon. It is implemented in Catalonia through the 1998 law on language policy (which replaces the 1983 law), in the Balearic Islands through the 1986 law on language policy and in Valencia through the 1983 law on the use and teaching of Valencian. In accordance with this legislation, Catalan is the language proper to Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencia and is also an official language in these areas, alongside Spanish. In Andorra, Catalan is the only official language according to article 2 of the 1993 Constitution of the Principality of Andorra.

Neither North Catalonia nor L'Alguer have their own law on language. In addition, on 11 December 1990, the European Parliament approved the "Resolution on the situation of languages in the Community and on the Catalan language". This resolution recognizes the identity, current validity and the use of Catalan within the context of the European Union and proposes that Catalan be included in certain actions undertaken by European institutions. ... Linguistic features Phonology and Grammar Catalan has seven vowels: a, open e and closed e, i, open o and closed o, and u. When unstressed, the vowels are reduced in the Eastern dialects, so that unstressed o and u sound both like u, while unstressed a and e sound both like a schwa vowel (similar to the English a in above). In the Balearic dialect, the schwa is also present in stressed syllables. Typical for Catalan is the switching of the post-tonic (unstressed) a to e when followed by a consonant.

In this way the nouns singular and plural forms alternates, cf.: els dies day(s) Compared with Spanish, Catalan differs in the lack of rising diphthongs (such as ie and ue) and the abundance of falling diphthongs (such as eu, au, ou): lack of rising diphthongs, cf. Cat. be vs. Sp. bien well, Cat. bo vs. Sp. bueno good, except for words containing the groups güe, güi, qüe, qüi; abundance of falling diphthongs, cf. Cat. peu vs. Sp. pie foot, Cat. bou vs. Sp. buey ox. Phonetically Catalan differs from Occitan less than from Spanish but often uses different vowel sounds and diphthongs. The consonant system is marked by palatalized and affricated sounds, cf.: j, pronounced like in French; x, pronounced like English sh; ny and ll, pronounced like n and l with the tip of the tongue touching the roof of the mouth; tj, pronounced like English j; tx, pronounced like English ch; and tz, pronounced like English dz but in a single glide of the tongue.

Under the influence of the Moorish speech the Latin s was often palatalized and written x, cf. L. simplex simple => Cat. ximple. The dialects have minor differences concerning the consonants also. Thus speakers from Valencia city do not distinguish between s and z. Catalan retained the stress of the Latin 3rd conjugation verbs on the root (like in French), while Spanish and Portuguese moved it on the infinitive ending, cf.: L. vEndere to sell => Cat. vEndre, F. vEndre vs. Sp. vendEr. Note: The capitalized vowels are stressed. Like the Ibero-Romance languages, Catalan constructs the compound tenses with haver to have only, except for a few districts in Northern Catalonia which use the auxiliary verb ser. Also there exists a distinction in the use of the auxiliaries ser and estar, both meaning to be; the essential difference is that ser is used with permanent qualities, which are not likely to be modified, while estar is used with qualities that are transient or that are the result of a transformation. Similarly to the Gallo-Romance languages and Italian, however, Catalan uses some adverbs like pronouns. ...

Vocabulary The most essential part of the vocabulary is inherited from Vulgar Latin. The Pre-Romance substratum is of much less significance than in Spanish. Catalan remained also aloof from arabization, as the Moorish domination was rather short. Review of Arabic vocabulary retained in Catalan, Castilian Spanish and Portuguese reveals a unique Catalan resistance to the agglutination of the Arabic article al- to the words, cf.: In which countries is Catalan the official language? In which countries is Catalan the official language? Answers (2) by Toni 5 years ago Curiously, the countries where Catalan language is official are Spain and Andorra. Particularly, in Spain Catalan is spoken in Catalonia, Valencia and in the Balearic Islands. In Andorra, a small country in the heart of the Pyrenees, Catalan is the only official language although Spanish and French are widely spoken. In Italy, the small city of l'Alguer in the island of Sardinia but it is not an official language in Italy. by David H 5 years ago Nice answer Toni, thanks.

By the way, I have been doing some research and found out that although Catalan is spoken in France, particularly in the Roussillon and the Pyrénées-Orientales, it is not recognized officially because the French Constitution of 1958 considers French as the only official language of the country. They are lucky in Spain that two languages can be recognized as official! As a curiosity I will add that Catalan is also spoken outside the Catalan Region: in Aragon (Area of La Franja) and in Murcia (Area of El Carche). Related Questions The languages in Barcelona and Catalonia Dictionary for free download Visitors to Barcelona come off well with Spanish, although the locals are happy about a greeting in Catalan. Especially in the tourism sector, many employees speak English. Even the younger people usually know some English. Regarding the elderly residents, you should try out a little French, because some words of the Catalan are very similar to French. Catalan is an independent language, and not a Spanish dialect, as often assumed. This is an important part of the Catalan self-understanding. Learning languages in Barcelona The most effective way of learning a foreign language is, without a doubt, staying in the country where the language is spoken.

If you are interested in learning Spanish, it is not a disadvantage to do this in Barcelona, even if Catalan is the second mother tongue. Despite the cultural and political autonomy of Catalonia, almost all Catalans speak Spanish, often as their first native language. In language schools in Barcelona, you usually have native teachers. To minimise the risk that you talk in German outside school, you can request to stay in a host family or in an apartment with other Spanish students. Also, taking part in excursions after class in which the sights are described in Spanish will be a good training. Origin and extension Catalan belongs to the Romance languages. Its origins go back to the 8th and 9th Century in the counties of the Spanish march. In the 12th and 13th Century the language spread down south. With the ending of Jaume I, the Catalan language area was defined. See also history of Barcelona . Approximately 11 million people live in the Catalan language area. In comparison: Portugal has around 9.8 million inhabitants, Greece 10.6.

The language area stretches across Andorra, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia (country), West Strip (Aragon), North Catalonia (France) and Alghero (Sardinia). Catalan is spoken in different dialects. In total, about 7.3 million people speak Catalan and 9.8 million people understand the language. From the suppression to the official language From 1939-1975, during the period of military dictatorship under Franco, Catalan was banned. Even telephone calls had to be carried out in Spanish. Meanwhile, the language was cultivated in the monastery of Montserrat. In 1979, Catalan was accepted as an individual language and became the official language in Catalonia. 1983 followed by the Balearic Islands and in 1993 by the state of Andorra. In 1983, a law was passed which made it possible to teach Catalan at schools and universities. In 1998, a conformable subsidy law for the economy and private media followed. Nowadays, there are 10 Catalan daily newspapers.

Catalan in the multilingual Spain Besides Castilian, Galician and Basque, Catalan is one out of four official languages in Spain. Approximately 40% of the Spanish population live in areas with two official languages. About 28% live in regions with Catalan as the official language. Source: Government of the Balearic Islands. More about Barcelona Catalan Vs Castilian - What Spanish is spoken in Barcelona Download Brochure What Spanish is spoken in Barcelona - Catalan Vs Castilian? If you want to study Spanish in Barcelona, you’ll probably have questions about Castilian Spanish Vs. Catalan language. With many articles floating around the internet, it’s not always easy to determine whether Barcelona is the right place to study Spanish. In fact, all the information may seem a little overwhelming. So, let’s deconstruct the myths, and find out the facts. What is “Catalonia”? The whole of Spain is divided into 17 different autonomous communities or regions. Each of these comes under Spanish political and administrative rule, and together these regions form the Spanish nation. Each community also has its own regional government.

Catalonia is one of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities, situated on the northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean coast. Where does Barcelona fit in? Barcelona is the capital city of the Catalonian region. What is the “Catalan language”? Catalan is a language spoken in three regions of Spain: Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. Outside Spain, it is the official language of Andorra. It is also spoken in some parts of France and Italy. Is Catalan a form of Castilian Spanish? No. Catalan is a language in its own right. It does not derive from Spanish, or even from French, even though many people say that Catalan sounds like a mixture of both. Catalan evolved directly from common Latin. This of course explains Catalan’s similarities of vocabulary and grammar with French, Spanish and even Italian, because all of these languages fall under the so-called Romance languages, which branched out from Latin. So what is “Castilian Spanish” then? “Castilian Spanish” simply refers to a standard kind of Spanish language, or more precisely, the purest kind of Spanish accent.

Saying that somebody speaks Castilian Spanish, is a little bit like saying that an English speaker speaks “Oxford English”. In other words, the person speaks the language in its “best”, “purest”, “proper” or “original” form. The term “Castilian” actually refers to the province of Castile in central Spain. It is said that the Spanish language in its most original form comes from there. In Spain, Castilian Spanish is called castellano, and the term is often used synonymously with “Spanish language”. For foreign students, the Castilian Spanish accent is the easiest kind to understand. This is because every letter and sound in Castilian Spanish is carefully pronounced, as opposed to, for example, Andalusian Spanish, where letters or even whole syllables are sometimes dropped, making it hard for beginners to understand the regional native accent. This is why you’ll usually be taught Castilian Spanish in your Spanish classes. So which is spoken in Barcelona - Catalan or Castilian Spanish? Both. In Barcelona, 98% of the population speaks Castilian Spanish. About 50-60% of Barcelona’s total population speaks Catalan.

Some of the Catalan speakers speak it as a first language, and Castilian Spanish to them is considered a “second language”. Some Catalan speakers consider Spanish their first language, and Catalan the second. In a very small number of cases, Catalan speakers speak no other languages at all, not even Spanish. But I’ve heard that everything in Barcelona is written in Catalan? Because the region of Catalonia has two official languages, you will see Catalan alongside Spanish on road signs, in shop advertisements and in the media. Historically, Catalan language has had a tough time; it was completely banned for political reasons on two occasions, but luckily today Catalonia’s regional government recognises its cultural and literary value. Through education and active promotion Catalan people are encouraged to speak the language in order to keep it alive. Having said all that, Spanish is also an official language in Catalonia, because, of course, the region is part of Spain. Therefore you’ll find road signs and other important public information always provided in two languages and most people in Catalonia speak Castilian Spanish anyway. In Barcelona, Spanish and Catalan newspapers, books, television channels, art and culture also exist side by side, so that people can choose the language they prefer. Is there a conflict between Spanish and Catalonian speakers?

There is an on-going heated debate happening in Catalonia, because some political agencies and certain factions of the population would like to separate Catalonia from Spain, in order to establish the region as a separate, independent country. Catalan language plays a part in this discussion; sometimes the language is used to make a point, to prove that Catalonia has its own cultural identity. Sometimes Barcelona suffers from an unfair reputation, whereby people say that the Catalan’s do not welcome Spanish speakers at all. As a blanket generalisation this is not true. The fact remains that a vast number of Catalans identify themselves as being Spanish, many feel proud to be both Spanish and Catalan at the same time and equally many believe that Catalonia is an integral part of the whole country. In those cases where people feel strongly about Catalan independence, most are only interested in a pacific, democratic debate, albeit it sometimes a passionate one. Either way, studying in Barcelona will not only teach you new Spanish language skills, but also give you an invaluable insight into both Spanish and Catalan culture, politics and history. So is it possible to learn Castilian Spanish in Barcelona? Absolutely.

To remind you of the facts, 98% of Barcelona’s population speaks Spanish, even if they also speak Catalan as a first or second language. Road signs, media and public information are always supplied in both Spanish and Catalan. You’ll always have far more options in terms of Spanish speaking or bilingual people, and places to visit, than those that present Catalan as the only communication option. And if you were to encounter a person or an establishment where only Catalan is spoken, the odds are that Spanish will still be at least understood. Should I study Catalan too, alongside Spanish? Yes, if you want to. However, it is always advisable to study one language at a time, especially if you are a beginner, because otherwise you could get very confused between the two. If learning Spanish is your main aim, keep that on the top of your list for now. Later on, when you get to a more proficient standard, and especially if you’re considering living and working in Barcelona, learning at least some Catalan on top of Spanish is probably a good idea. I’m thinking of spending a long time in Barcelona. Which is better, Spanish or Catalan? “Better” can only be defined according to what you ultimately need the language for.

If you are marrying a Catalan person, and their family only speaks Catalan, you might want to make that your top priority! If you’re offered a job in Barcelona, and your new boss wants you to learn Catalan, you should obviously do it. However, Catalonia being in Spain, you’ll definitely need Spanish also. Additionally, the fact remains, that Spain is the third-most spoken language in the world, used by approximately 406 million people globally through Spain and Latin America, while Catalan is a language spoken by about 7 million people in a relatively small western-European area. So unless you personal or professional needs dictate it, in the long term, Spanish may be the more useful language, especially if you’re planning to travel, study or work in Spanish-speaking countries, or get involved with Spanish-speaking business or communities in your own country.

Question: Which small country has the official language of Catalan?
Answer: ANDORRA